With the April release of Table VM-1 from Highway Statistics 2009 came several changes to the availability of data on vehicle miles of travel (VMT). From 1966 to 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published the VMT, fuel use, and average fuel economy of 2-axle, 4-tire trucks separately from cars on Table VM-1. The 2-axle, 4-tire truck category included pickups, vans, sport utility vehicles, and other 4-tire trucks. For 2009 data and thereafter, car and 2-axle, 4-tire truck data are aggregated together and reported by the length of the vehicle's wheelbase (short and long). In addition, significant methodology changes were made to the single-unit truck and the combination truck data on VM-1, such that the data are not comparable with the previous years' data. Knowing that comparability would be an issue, the FHWA released revised versions of Table VM-1 going back to the year 2007. You can find the revised data in the Highway Statistics on the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration web site.

The 2008 VM-1 Original Table
Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data – 2008 1/
by Highway Category and Vehicle Type
December 2009
Table VM-1
        SUBTOTALS 
YEARITEMPASSENGER CARSMOTOR-
CYCLES		BUSESOTHER 2-AXLE 4-TIRE VEHICLES 3/SINGLE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE TRUCKS 4/COMBINATION TRUCKSPASSENGER CARS AND OTHER 2-AXLE 4-TIRE VEHICLESSINGE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE AND COMBINATION TRUCKSALL MOTOR VEHICLES 2/
 Motor-Vehicle Travel: (millions of vehicle-miles)
2008Interstate Rural115,5321,3481,02777,8427,29940,242193,37347,542243,290
2007122,1831,42098682,0307,18842,632204,21249,819256,438
2008Other Arterial Rural191,8972,4181,020139,86713,64625,426331,76439,071374,273
2007204,1232,3051,015145,98513,87726,160350,10840,037393,465
2008Other Rural195,6841,9291,772144,17115,47813,820339,85529,298372,855
2007203,4851,8201,722148,61215,65914,101352,09729,760385,400
2008All Rural503,1125,6953,819361,88036,42379,488864,993115,911990,418
2007529,7915,5463,723376,62736,72382,893906,418119,6161,035,303
2008Interstate Urban262,3212,7381,077169,60510,12730,223431,92640,350476,091
2007267,5592,6311,052170,66910,14331,262438,22841,405483,315
2008Other Urban850,4176,0512,218577,11737,40033,7971,427,53471,1971,507,000
2007875,1185,4442,205564,97535,14730,8921,440,09366,0391,513,781
2008All Urban1,112,7388,7893,295746,72247,52764,0191,859,460111,5471,983,091
20071,142,6778,0753,257735,64445,29062,1531,878,320107,4441,997,096
2008Total Rural and Urban1,615,85014,4847,1141,108,60383,951143,5072,724,453227,4582,973,509
20071,672,46713,6216,9801,112,27182,014145,0462,784,738227,0603,032,399
2008Number of motor vehicles registered 5/137,079,8437,752,926843,308101,234,8496,790,8822,215,856238,314,6929,006,738255,917,664
2007135,932,9307,138,476834,436101,469,6156,806,6302,220,995237,402,5459,027,624254,403,081
2008Average miles traveled per vehicle11,7881,8688,43610,95112,36264,76411,43225,25411,619
200712,3041,9088,36510,96212,04965,30711,73025,15211,920
2008Person-miles of travel 6/ (millions)2,553,04318,395150,8271,921,96083,951143,5074,475,004227,4584,871,683
20072,642,49817,298147,9851,928,31982,014145,0464,570,818227,0604,963,161
2008Fuel consumed 7/ (thousand gallons)71,497,204256,3581,109,63661,198,9349,888,72926,814,441132,696,13936,703,170170,765,303
200774,377,197242,2411,144,86161,836,21610,043,77828,545,442136,213,41338,589,220176,189,735
2008Average fuel consumption per vehicle (gallons) 7/522331,3166051,45612,1015574,075667
2007547341,3726091,47612,8535744,275693
2008Average miles traveled per gallon of fuel consumed 7/22.656.56.418.18.55.420.56.217.4
200722.556.26.118.08.25.120.45.917.2

1/ The 50 states and the District of Columbia report travel by highway category, number of motor vehicles registered, and total fuel consumed. The travel and fuel data by vehicle type and stratification of trucks are estimated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Estimation procedures include use of State supplied data, the 2002 Census of Transportation Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS), and other sources.
2/ Totals by highway category are from table VM-2. Some changes between rural and urban roadways can be attributed to 2002 census boundary changes.
3/ Other 2-Axle 4-Tire Vehicles which are not passenger cars. These include vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles.
4/ Single-Unit 2-Axle 6-Tire or More Trucks on a single frame with at least two axles and six tires.
5/ Truck registration figures are from tables MV-1 and MV-9 with truck distribution estimated by the FHWA.
6/ Vehicle occupancy is estimated by the FHWA from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS); For heavy trucks, 1 motor vehicle miles traveled = 1 person-miles traveled.
7/ Total fuel consumption figures are from tables MF-21 and MF-27. Distribution by vehicle type is estimated by the FHWA based on miles per gallon for both diesel and gasoline powered vehicles using State-supplied data, the 2002 VIUS, and other sources with nominal inputs for motorcycles and buses.

 

The 2009 VM-1 Revised Methodology Table
Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data – 2009 1/
by Highway Category and Vehicle Type
Published: April 2011
Table VM-1
        SUBTOTALS 
YEARITEMLIGHT DUTY VEHICLES SHORT WB 2/MOTOR-CYCLESBUSESLIGHT DUTY VEHICLES LONG WB 2/SINGLE-UNIT TRUCKS 3/COMBINATION TRUCKSALL LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES 2/SINGE-UNIT 2-AXLE 6-TIRE OR MORE AND COMBINATION TRUCKSALL MOTOR VEHICLES
 Motor-Vehicle Travel: (millions of vehicle-miles)
2009Interstate Rural139,6211,4801,60142,00210,99146,178181,62257,169241,873
2009Other Arterial Rural229,3673,2952,06389,19419,36429,185318,56148,549372,468
2009Other Rural226,4983,5022,50697,88719,17316,322324,38435,494365,886
2009All Rural595,4858,2776,170229,08249,52891,684824,567141,212980,227
2009Interstate Urban334,7652,3232,17087,11615,64932,940421,88148,589474,963
2009Other Urban1,083,18510,2016,017300,70554,98643,2181,383,89098,2041,498,311
2009All Urban1,417,95012,5238,187387,82170,63576,1581,805,771146,7931,973,274
2009Total Rural and Urban 5/2,013,43620,80014,358616,903120,163167,8422,630,338288,0052,953,501
2009Number of motor vehicles registered 2/193,979,6547,929,724841,99340,488,0258,356,0972,617,118234,467,67910,973,214254,212,610
2009Average miles traveled per vehicle10,3802,62317,05215,23714,38064,13211,21826,24611,618
2009Person-miles of travel 4/ (millions)2,797,43822,404304,386824,151120,163167,8423,621,589288,0054,236,384
2009Fuel consumed (thousand gallons)85,560,236474,9091,868,79235,763,79716,342,2082,8130,088121,324,03444,472,296168,140,031
2009Average fuel consumption per vehicle (gallons)441602,2198831,95610,7485174,053661
2009Average miles traveled per gallon of fuel consumed23.843.27.217.47.46.021.76.517.6

1/ The FHWA estimates national trends by using State reported Highway Performance and Monitoring System (HPMS) data, fuel consumption data (MF-21 and MF-27), vehicle registration data (MV-1, MV-9, and MV-10), other data such as R.L. Polk vehicle data, and a host of modeling techniques. Starting with the 2009 VM-1, an enhanced methodology is used to provide timely indicators on both travel and travel behavior changes.
2/ Light Duty Vehicles Short WB – passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. Light Duty Vehicles Long WB – large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches. All Light Duty Vehicles – passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles regardless of wheelbase.
3/ Single-Unit – single frame trucks that have 2-Axles and at least 6 tires or a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 10,000 lbs.
4/ Vehicle occupancy is estimated by the FHWA from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS); For single unit truck and heavy trucks, 1 motor vehicle miles traveled = 1 person-miles traveled.
5/ VMT data are based on the latest HPMS data available; it may not match previous published results.

Supporting Information

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2009.

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